THE CITY REBORN FROM THE ASHES OF AMERICA'S MOST DISASTROUS FOREST FIRE

Bulldogs Beat Foxes

Issue Date: November 15, 2017

New Coach,

New Conference,

Bulldogs Will

Lean on Players

There will be plenty of brand new parts heading into the 2017-18 season for the Peshtigo Bulldogs. Peshtigo will be in its first season in the Packerland Conference after many, many years in the M&O Conference. The Bulldogs will also be featuring their third head coach in three years, Bruce Parkovich. With several unfamiliar territories, the Bulldogs will lean heavily on an experienced senior group, lead by Shae Tonn, Madi Martin, Emma Frederickson, Hannah Swanson, Lexy DeBriyn and McKenna Berth.

Although coach Parkovich is new to the lady Bulldogs, he brings plenty of his own experience. Parkovich was the head coach in Marinette for 13 years, in Clintonville for seven years, has been the Peshtigo freshmen coach for the past three seasons, and has assisted in Suring and at UW-Marinette. "Every place I've gone, I keep learning, which I think is important. Boy, if you think you know it all, you're going to be sadly mistaken," Parkovich said.

Coach Parkovich also talked about the opportunity to play in the Packerland Conference, "There's really a lot of balance in that conference. Every night is going to be a good challenge for us and I think that will help us in the tournament. It's going to be a new experience, the girls found that out in volleyball and the boys in football that, this is a good league and you have to come every night ready to play."

Tuesday night, the Bulldogs faced their first challenge of the season as they welcomed the Omro Foxes to town for a non-conference matchup. After a bit of a slow start, the Bulldogs battled back to cut Omro's lead at halftime to 21-17. Peshtigo found their stride in the second half and outscored Omro 30-16, to win their opener 47-37.

The Foxes jumped out to an 8-0 lead thanks to triples by Ashley Buchholz and Payton Rahn. Peshtigo's Emma Frederickson jump started the Bulldog offense with back-to-back baskets to cut the lead in half. Madi Martin added a layup, bringing Peshtigo within two, 8-6. Omro did their damage from behind the arc as Rachel Kilgas connected for three and Buchholz added another long ranger. Peshtigo narrowed the margin to one, 18-17 with just one minute to go in the half. The Foxes held for one last shot, and Buchholz hit home another three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left, giving Omro a 21-17 lead at halftime.

"It always feels good winning that first one. This was sort of the opposite of what I thought. I thought we were going to score points and our defense wasn't quite where it was supposed to be. It was just the opposite, the kids really played well on defense," said coach Parkovich.

Peshtigo owned the second half, quickly erasing their deficit and taking a 23-21 lead on a three from Shae Tonn and a long jumper from Hannah Swanson. Buchholz once again connected on a triple to give Omro the lead again, but a layup from Martin and free throws for the Bulldogs gave them a lead they would never surrender. Omro fought hard to battle back, but three straight baskets from Swanson extended the Bulldog lead to 39-32. Peshtigo went on to win a "grind-it-out" type of game one, 47-37.

"I give the girls credit, three of them had to play the whole game. They hung in there, and this was a big win." Coach Parkovich added of the win, "Shae's my best defensive player and I knew that girl was their best offensive threat. Of course, Shae's going to get that every game and she never complains. She knows how to play the game. I thought she played really well and I thought our team fed off of her a little bit."

Swanson paced the Bulldogs with 16 points, Martin chipped in with 14, Tonn added 10 and Frederickson finished with seven. Omro's Buchholz finished with a game-high 21 points, accounting for 57% of her team's points.

Gillett Begins Season

1-0 With Victory

Over Bonduel

The Gillett Tigers played host to the Bonduel Bears Tuesday, in a non-conference season opening matchup. Gillett jumped out to a 31-22 lead over Bonduel at halftime, and cruised to 54-42 victory.

For Bonduel, Ashlyn Schell led the way with 10 points, Kylie Guenther finished with nine and Jessie LaBerge and Elena Shest each added seven.

Cavaliers Struggle at

Sevastopol in Opener

Opening the 2017-18 season, the St. Thomas Aquinas Academy Cavaliers traveled to Sevastopol to take on the Pioneers. Sevastopol held a narrow two-point lead at halftime, 20-18, before taking the second half and the win, 45-37.

The Cavaliers were powered by dynamic duo Millie Benson and Alexa Pristelski, who combined for 33 of the 37 points. Benson finished with 17 and Pristelski was close behind with 16, Halle Beranek added four points.

Sevastopol was led by Amber Roalkvan with 17 points, Courtney Tebo pitched in with 12 and Jillie Jorns added seven.

Suring Opens Season

With Win Over Tigerton

Tuesday evening the Suring Eagles played host to the Tigerton Tigers for the basketball season opener. After building a 27-15 halftime lead, the Eagles went on to win the matchup 48-33, starting their season off 1-0.

Kylee Stelzer led the Eagles with 27 points including three triples, Linzy Runge and Paige Krueger each added eight points and Wylee VanBellinger chipped in with five.

For Tigerton, Haden Miller paced the team with 12 points, Raven Dewherst added eight and Leah Johe finished with seven.